Nov. 18-24, 2019

W E E K LY E D I T I O N | N O V E M B E R 18 - 2 4 , 2 0 19 | O U D A I LY. C O M

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The University of Oklahoma’s independent student voice since 1916

HURTS LEADS COMEBACK • 5

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Senior quarterback Jalen Hurts and senior cornerback Parnell Motley celebrate with fans after the game against Baylor on Nov. 16 in Waco, Texas.

SOONER MAGIC

Oklahoma keeps College Football Playoff hopes alive after recovering from 25-point deficit to make school history in comeback win over Baylor GEORGE STOIA @GeorgeStoia

WACO, Texas — Nick Basquine sprinted toward the south end zone, a smile on his face and his arms spread wide.

“They thought they f-cking had us!” he shouted as he skipped down the field.

Minutes earlier, Basquine and No. 10 Oklahoma had kept their season alive, pulling off the biggest comeback in school history, topping No. 13 Baylor, 34-31. The Sooners scored 24 unanswered points in the second half, shocking the college football world that had all but counted them out.

“Well, that was fun,” coach Lincoln Riley said to open his postgame press conference. “Where do I start?”

Oklahoma somehow found a way to win Saturday night, earning its 19th straight victory in the month of November. It kept its College Football Playoff hopes alive, moving one step closer to sneaking into the four-team playoff. And, after two weeks of playing below their potential, the Sooners showed a mental toughness in a second half that Sooner Nation won’t soon forget.

Saturday was, in many ways, what fans call “Sooner Magic.”

“It shows a lot of maturity just to go all the way down. When your back is against the wall, how are you going to respond?” said senior cornerback Parnell Motley, who forced a fumble in the third quarter. He noted after the game that, earlier in the week, the OU defense had watched Super Bowl LI when the New England Patriots came back from 28-3 down. “We were at our lowest point, and everybody doubted us. We kept our head in it, and we didn’t get discouraged. We told ourselves, ‘You don’t win in the first quarter — you win in the fourth quarter.’

“That’s exactly what we did, we won in the fourth quarter.”

Oklahoma scored 17 in the fourth quarter, topped by a Gabe Brkic 31-yard game-winning field goal with 1:46 left to play. Not long before, the Sooners had been down 28-3.

Without star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, who was out due to a “medical issue,” OU’s juggernaut offense looked lost. As for the defense, it looked eerily similar to years past, unable to get a stop or force a turnover.

The Sooners looked doomed. But then Riley did something he’s done only one other time in his three years as head coach.

After Baylor scored its fourth touchdown with 11:02 remaining in the second quarter, putting the Sooners down 25, he gathered his entire team around the 35-yard line. He stood in the center, looking every player in the eye as he delivered what he hoped to be an inspiring speech.

The only other time he’s done this was a year ago, when the Sooners faced Alabama in the Orange Bowl. They were down 28-0. While Oklahoma didn’t generate a win then, that speech sparked a comeback.

It did again Saturday night.

“I think it’s just a chance to refocus a little bit. On the road, or in an atmosphere like that, it can get away from you quick, and your mistakes start to become compounded. And that’s what I think started happening to us,” Riley said. “We would have one or two mistakes that would turn into three, four, five. We had to stop that, and I wanted to make sure that they knew that what we did all week really did happen, and we really are good enough to come back and do this.

“I told them that if we don’t believe, we have no shot. But they did, they believed. Those speeches aren’t magical — it’s what the players do with it.”

The speech may not have been

magical, but the Sooners’ second-half performance was damn near close.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts flipped the script, turning his two first-half turnovers into three second-half touchdowns. After just 106 total yards at halftime, he finished with 411 yards and four touchdowns.

He delivered when it mattered most.

“Today, turned the ball over, I think three times — that’s unacceptable for me,” Hurts said. “But we found a way to overcome it. And it’s this team thing that means so much, to football, to any team sport. It’s about the group, it’s about everybody. It’s not about one individual or one mistake. It’s about, ‘How do you respond to it as a team?’ I think we were hammer and not the nail.”

New defensive coordinator Alex Grinch’s defense did its part, too. After giving up 238 total yards and 31 points in the first half, the defense held the Bears to just 69 total yards and zero points while forcing two key turnovers in the second half.

Grinch did what he was brought to Oklahoma to do. How did he do it?

“The players did. That’s the short answer,” Grinch said. “The resiliency. If you get caught up in the scoreboard and you start making judgments, you start making assessments about how things aren’t going well — things aren’t going well when you don’t make plays.

“Things have a tendency to not go well when you don’t have 11 guys executing at an elite level. So the hole you dig is the one you’ve got a shovel in hand, and we did our part in digging it.

Give them credit — an atmosphere like that, versus a very good football team, you’ve got to weather the storm early.

And, certainly, you could make the claim that we did that.”

Oklahoma’s win Saturday puts it squarely back in the College Football Playoff race. With two regular season games remaining — at home against TCU and at Oklahoma State — the

Sooners look primed to win their fifthstraight Big 12 title, likely playing Baylor again in the championship game.

“You just have to win. I know what all the people on TV talk about, like style points or how much you win by or lose by. I think you just have to find a way to win,” Riley said. “That’s all that I know.

I know that’s been a decent formula for us the last few years. You’ve got to win these tough ones like this. We got a good football team. We saw in that second half what we can be. We’re excited to go fight to do that here the rest of the season.”

Whether OU makes a third-consecutive playoff appearance, Saturday night’s performance showed a core trait of this team.

And it’s a whole lot of resiliency.

“I learned a lot about our team this week. I probably learned more this week about our team than maybe tonight,” Riley said. “When we got down, I really believed we had the comeback in us. Now, it’s still hard to do. There’s no doubt about that, especially against a good team. I really felt like we had it in us. We kind of found ourselves a little bit.”

In his postgame interview, Hurts recalled Grinch sharing a message with the team as they ran out for the second half. The two Oklahoma newcomers then shared a moment together.

“It’s going to be one hell of a story one day to tell our kids,” Grinch said in the tunnel.

“Just add another one to the list,” Hurts replied. “One of many.”

Saturday’s game was one Sooner Nation won’t ever forget. From Hurts to Riley to Grinch, it took everyone believing in themselves and their teammates.

“There’s always a way,” Hurts said, “always a way.”

George Stoia

georgestoia@ou.edu

2

NEWS

• Nov. 18-24, 2019

New OU hire brings experience Colleagues, student say Hyppolite is right for position BLAKE DOUGLAS @Blake_Doug918

In January, a new vice president for diversity and inclusion will begin work at OU. The position, which had been filled in an interim capacity by Jane Irungu since August 2018, has been a critical one at OU, particularly in 2019. Multiple racist incidents occurred on campus and in Norman in the spring, and another blackface incident on Sept. 22 prompted frustration with university administration from OU’s Black Emergency Response Team.

The OU Board of Regents ap p rov e d t h e h i r i ng o f Belinda Higgs Hyppolite in October to fill the position. Hyppolite currently serves as the assistant vice president of student development and enrollment services at the University of Central Florida, and her hiring will take effect in January 2020.

According to Hyppolite’s online bio, she has more than 20 years of experience in higher education and has been at UCF since 2004.

Hyppolite told The Daily in an email that she

preferred not to interview until after she begins in the position in January, but many who have worked with Hyppolite at UCF said her extensive experience — in multiple aspects of university administration — makes her an ideal candidate for a campus facing diversity challenges like OU’s.

Sheila Amin Gutiérrez de Piñeres, dean of UCF’s Burnett Honors College, said she first met Hyppolite in 2011.

“I found her to be incredibly insightful and attuned t o w hat wa s g o i ng o n ,” Piñeres said. “She’s done so many different things and understands so many different components of diversity and inclusion. You’re getting, at OU, someone with an incredible wealth of experience and knowledge that is really ready to make the next step to vice president.”

Aside from her current position, Hyppolite has also served as an adjunct professor and the director of fraternity and sorority life at UCF, and she has held a position at Ohio State University’s multicultural center, Piñeres said.

Christina Khan, director of UCF Global, said Hyppolite’s advocacy for different student groups on campus often takes place outside of her office.

“S h e ’s a v e r y v i s i b l e

presence on campus,” Khan said. “She always talks to the students. She’s not one that goes to her office, and, you know, no one ever sees her. She’s one where, she’ll sit and engage with students and talk with them.

The setup of her office is so you always know where it’s located.”

Khan said some of Hyppolite’s most public involvement has been her leadership in creating a community presentation to spread awareness and educate students about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Temporary Protected Status immigration programs. She has also served as the team lead for UCF’s Just Knights Response team, an organization that helps report hate and bias-related incidents on campus.

“She’s able to navigate issues in a way that’s really thoughtful to all parties involved, regardless of where they stand on their own views, in a way that helps to bridge differences and to make people feel included,” Khan said. “She’s so good at that, and it’s a very difficult skill for people to develop — she just has it. She’s able to talk with people from all different backgrounds and build consensus, and she does that really well.”

Hyppolite’s ability to foster individual relationships

with students is one of her defining characteristics, said Alexandra Jean-Louis, a health sciences sophomore at UCF. Jean-Louis was paired with Hyppolite in a program called the LEGACY Leadership and Mentoring Program. The program is targeted for freshmen, but Jean-Louis said Hyppolite ma d e i t a p o i nt t o st ay available.

“She’s another AfricanAmerican woman, so she just really understands from my perspective leaving home for the first time and trying to adjust to the college lifestyle,” JeanLouis said. “She always knew the right things to say to me to help guide me through that first year. I appreciated every moment and every piece of advice she gave me. It was all really heartfelt.”

Jean-Louis said that despite Hyppolite’s friendly nature, she is always honest when it comes to the issues facing her community.

“If you don’t want someone to sugarcoat anything, and you just want to know how it is,” JeanLouis said, “she’s really straightforward.”

Piñeres said Hyppolite manages to balance that straightforward approach to campus issues with the ability to communicate with everyone involved on

different sides of an issue and explain why she might make certain decisions.

“When she says we’re going to do something, it’s for a reason, and everything is educational,” Piñeres said. “It wasn’t just, ‘Here’s a stick and this is why we’re doing it — because you guys did something wrong.’

It was like, ‘Look, this is educational. This is why we’re doing it. This is why it’s in everyone’s best interest.’”

That c o o p e rat i ve ap proach, Piñeres said, is what she feels makes Hyppolite an effective leader in the many positions she has held at UCF. “She is so well-equipped to handle whatever is thrown at her, but more importantly she is great at bringing a campus along and educating and helping folks see why things work and don’t work and why these things make sense,” Piñeres said. “You’re not ever being pulled along with (Hyppolite). You are happy to walk alongside her.”

Jean-Louis said she felt Hyppolite was more than ready to take the next step to help a university — and its underrepresented student populations — thrive, despite the challenges OU has faced in the past year.

“She’s doing this for a reason, to help black people at our universities excel

VIA UCF.EDU

Belinda Higgs Hyppolite

and continue on their journey in college,” Jean-Louis said. “I think she’s prepared for it, and I think her being my mentor, I can definitely say she is a strong person.”

Hyppolite’s departure will leave a noticeable void at UCF, Khan said, but she is hopeful for the impact Hyppolite will have at OU. “When I learned that she was moving to OU, I was very sad for UCF, just because she is such a strong presence on campus and has impacted so many people,” Khan said. “I know that she’s made a huge impact on me personally, too, but I feel like when I learned about the role and what she would be doing, it just — it makes so much sense with who she is and what she’s done.”

Blake Douglas

bdoug99@ou.edu

Haystack Coffee strives for culture of caring Baptist Collegiate Ministry opens community space BENNETT BRINKMAN @bennett_lostkid

I n 1 8 0 6 , f i v e Williams College students in Williamstown, Massachusetts, took refuge from a rainstorm underneath a haystack to continue their discussion of religion — a discussion that eventually led to some of the first international missions from the U.S., according to the Williams College website.

The gathering, known a s t h e Hayst a ck P raye r Meeting, gave the leaders of OU Baptist Collegiate Ministry the perfect name for the coffee shop they wanted to put in their new building: Haystack Coffee.

The coffee shop, which opened Oct. 1, is located directly west of Couch Restaurants and has already served more than 1,000 people, said Bronson Baker, a Baptist Collegiate Ministr y full-time staff member of almost six years.

Ha y s t a c k i s t h e o n l y non-university coffee option near the dorms. When Baptist Collegiate Ministry leadership realized they were getting a building through a “land trade” with OU, Baker said they decided a coffee shop would be the best way to reach students.

“We want to love campus and do that well,” Baker said. “And so the thought was, well, if we can put a legitimate coffee shop in and people can come in and get some really good coffee, have a place to study and hang out, great. That’ll be awesome.”

Baker and Baptist Collegiate Ministry director Shane Kammerer then began visiting coffee shops in the Oklahoma City area over a two-year period to figure out how to create a good coffee shop, Baker said. To allow for more flexibility with hours and within the business, leadership decided not to rent the space to a third-party vendor and made Haystack a part of

Haystack Coffee, pictured Nov. 12. The coffee shop opened Oct. 1 and is located west of Couch Restaurants.

Baptist Collegiate Ministry.

Because they knew some p e o p l e m ig ht n o t wa nt to visit what they saw as a church, Baker and others involved with the effort made a decision to separate Haystack Coffee from BCM. “So I would say the biggest challenge was, ‘How are we going to make a legitimate shop inside another place?’” Baker said. “‘Where people can feel that, and it can seem like its own independent kind of place?’”

To that end, Haystack Coffee is a separate space from the rest of the Baptist Collegiate Ministry building. It has its own entrance and can be closed off from

the rest of the building by a set of sliding glass doors.

Most of the employees are also separate from the regular BCM staff, Baker said.

In order to better connect with the community, Baker and coffee shop manager Justin Talley made an intentional effort to foster a culture with Haystack Coffee employees that focuses on the customer.

“When you care about people first, it changes everything,” Baker said. “We want our employees to take some initiative ... (to ask), ‘Is that going to help accomplish the goal of caring about someone?’ Yes? OK, then yeah, do it.”

International development junior Bailee McCurdy, who works for Haystack Coffee and is involved with Baptist Collegiate Ministry, said the culture allows employees to better connect with customers.

“Being able to just be a friendly face for anybody that’s coming in to get a cup of coffee, you kind of get more than just the coffee,” McCurdy said.

That culture created a memorable experience for advertising sophomore Aubrey Scott, who visited Haystack Coffee with a friend. The hot chocolate she ordered was better than

Starbucks, Scott said.

“The girl I was with ... is there a lot, so she knows the bartender,” Scott said. “And he was just so sweet and put little foaming hearts on our hot chocolates.”

Though Haystack serves coffee to OU students, it also has another goal in mind for the larger Norman community.

“We want to serve the best cup of coffee we have because OU is in Norman, and Norman does not have very many coffee shops,” Baker said. “So we wanted to help up the coffee game and do what we can to help, and I think we have so far.

It’s been pretty cool.”

KATHRYN STACY/THE DAILY

Many OU students will be glad to have a coffee shop nearby, Scott said.

“I personally love to go to Stella Nova and Gray Owl, and some of my friends even go to coffee shops in downtown OKC and drive like 30 minutes to go to a good coffee shop,” Scott said. “So I think it’s really good to have a coffee shop on campus, somewhere that you can kind of get away ... but it’s also really close by.”

Bennett Brinkman

bennettbrinkman@ou.edu

CULTURE

Nov. 18-24, 2019 •

3

MADI FOSTER/THE DAILY

Children dancers perform with their toys during a rehearsal of “The Nutcracker” Nov. 14.

‘Nutcracker’ to ring in holidays School of Dance to perform 1944 version of classic JILLIAN TAYLOR @jilliantaylor_

Instrumental music swells in the Elsie C. Brackett Theatre as snow-covered trees descend from the top of the stage. In a matter of minutes, OU ’s cast of “ The Nutcracker” transform into fantastical characters.

OU’s production of “The Nutcracker” ushers in the season by transpor ting audiences back in time to 19th-century Germany.

Directed by Michael Bearden, director of OU’s School of Dance, this performance will celebrate the 75th anniversary of Willam Christensen’s 1944 version, which is the first American adaptation of the ballet, according to the Ballet West’s website.

The ballet follows the story of a young girl named Clara who is given

a nutcracker by a toymaker named Dr. Drosselmeyer at her family’s holiday party.

Upon falling asleep after the party, Clara enters a dream sequence featuring a living version of her nutcracker in a land overrun by mice and their rat king, Bearden said.

OU’s production of “The Nutcracker” has allowed Bearden to direct a unique performance by casting dancers from outside the OU School of Dance to fulfill some of the male and youth roles, which is rare for the college’s productions, he said.

The addition of outside dancers to the cast has been special, said Elena Damiani, a ballet performance senior who plays the Snow Queen, the Spanish Lead, the Lead Mirliton and a dancer in the Waltz of the Flowers.

“In this production, we have two of our faculty members, an OU alum and kids from the Norman and OKC community performing with us,” Damiani said.

“They have helped us fill in

some of the roles and celebrate our community.”

Bearden said the outside dancers have been extremely helpful because, without them, he wouldn’t have had the resources necessary to fill each role.

He said it’s rewarding to watch his cast be pushed both technically and artistically.

“Most of the steps in ‘The Nutcracker’ are not easy,” Bearden said. “It’s been neat to see these dancers struggle and conquer all of the difficult steps and to be able to give them some insight through the process.”

Despite the technical and physical demands of the ballet, cast members are expected to play multiple roles throughout the show. Justin Rainey, a ballet pedagogy senior who p l ay s t h e G ra n d f a t h e r, Snow King and Arabian Lead, said it can be challenging, but he is glad the show was cast this way.

“Having different roles is a different experience, as you get to learn more by embodying different things

and doing different steps,” Rainey said. “I love being able to take my mind different places, whereas if you’re doing the same role and you’re stuck in that mindset.”

Regardless of its 75-year history, Bearden said this version of “The Nutcracker” is still evolving.

“Artistically, through this production, I have learned just how adaptable to different sizes, stages and environments this production is,” Bearden said. “It’s been nice to see this flexibility because, ultimately, it’s about the spirit of the production and the growth our students experience.”

This versatility has s h ow n t r u e i n a re c e nt c a s t i n g c h a n g e. E m m y Wi l d e r mu t h, a m o d e r n dance performance and professional writing junior, is filling in for one of her male castmates in the traditionally male role of the Chinese Lead. Bearden said this will be one of the first times in 75 years of the production that a woman has played this role.

“In 2019, as women’s p l a c e i n o u r c u l t u re i s hopefully changing and evolving, we decided by having a woman play this role, we could continue to pioneer in a show that was pioneering in its beginnings,” Bearden said.

In h e r b a l l e t c l a s s e s, Wildermuth has always challenged herself by dancing with both the women and men dancers. She said this opportunity has helped her continue to push herself and show strength in ways she wouldn’t have been able to in her original roles.

“I think that as a female dancer, you should be able to do everything and recognize that there’s beauty in more things than just grace and melody,” Wildermuth said. “I believe all forms of beauty, ballet and dance are valid, but playing this very strong role has showed me that strength can also be beautiful.”

Ultimately, Bearden said he hopes OU’s production allows audiences to feel like they are getting a look

into something special as they watch the version that started it all.

“Whether you dance professionally or not, so many young girls and boys are going to dance in this production or go see it, and it all started because of this version that we’re doing,” Bearden said. “It’s really cool that our dancers and audience gets to be a part of a production that inspired part of our cultural fabric regarding the holidays.”

“The Nutcracker” opens at 8 p.m. Nov. 22, with additional performances at 8 p.m. Nov. 24 and Dec. 5–7 and at 3 p.m. Nov. 24 and Dec. 7–8 in the Elsie C .

Brackett Theatre at 563 Elm Ave. Tickets range from $20 to $25 and are available online, by phone and at the OU Fine Arts Box Office.

D i s c o u nt e d t i c k e t s a re available for students and faculty for $10.

Jillian Taylor

jillian.g.taylor-2@ou.edu

OU checks out ‘Human Library’ at The Bizz Students get chance to ask others about diverse experiences MOLLY KRUSE @mollykruse98

Visitors to Bizzell Memorial Library can check out books any day, but on Nov. 22 the books will come alive — literally.

O U ’s f i r s t “ H u m a n Library” event will give community members the opportunity to “borrow” other people with diverse experiences and ask questions they wouldn’t normally get to ask. Human book topics will range from gender identity and immigration to mental health and national identity, said Youssef Kamel, an international area studies and religious studies senior and president of the International Advisory Committee.

Anyone can sign up to be a “book” through an online application. They also get to choose their own titles and what topics they want to

represent.

“Of course, a lot of people (have) very intersectional personalities,” Kamel said. “So they can talk about multiple things. They get to choose how to frame it, they get to choose what to say, and so on.”

Visitors to the human library can “check out” different human books and ask respectful questions about the topic they have never had the opportunity to ask, Kamel said.

The event is a collaboration between the Inte r nat i o na l Ad v i s o r y Committee, the College of International Studies, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and OU Libraries.

The first human librar y event in Oklahoma was held in Tulsa this year, but this is the first time for the event to come to the Oklahoma City area, Kamel said.

Kamel said the OU community has gone through a lot over the past several semesters and has a lot to work on. He hopes the human library will allow people to

VIA HUMAN LIBRARY FACEBOOK EVENT

OU will host its first “Human Library” event on Nov. 22. Human libraries offer an opportunity for people to engage with others and ask questions about their experiences.

work through their misconceptions and stereotypes.

“It’s very hard to not listen to another person who’s sitting right in front of you,” Kamel said.

The human library idea originated in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2000 and has

been presented in about 80 countries since then, according to the Human Library website.

Kamel said he hopes OU will continue the human library event after he graduates next year.

“A friend of mine and I

have been wanting to do this since our freshman year.

We’re seniors now,” Kamel said. “And this is something that we’ve been kind of hoping to do for a very long time.”

Applications to be a human library book are

open until Nov. 13. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 22 in the Bizzell Memorial Library.

Molly Kruse

molly.kruse@ou.edu

4

CULTURE

• Nov. 18-24, 2019

COOPER LEE/THE DAILY

Harold Stevenson’s “The Great Society� paintings on exhibit Oct. 8 at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art.

Museum returns familiar faces ‘The Great Society’ shows 97 portraits of Oklahomans MOLLY KRUSE @mollykruse98

Cat-eye glasses, furrowed brows and eyes crinkling with laughter line the gallery walls. The 97 portraits are nameless, identified only by Roman numerals painted on the corners of the canvas.

The faces belong to the exhibit “The Great Society,� which the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art recently brought back after a 13-year hiatus.

The artist, Harold Stevenson, was featured in Andy Warhol’s films, painted a giant nude that hangs in the Guggenheim and displayed artwork from the Eiffel Tower in the 1960s.

But some of his favorite subjects were the residents of his hilly hometown: Idabel, Oklahoma. “What Stevenson wanted to do was to celebrate that sort of collective identity of the United States,� said Mark White, Wylodean and Bill Saxon director at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, “And for him, his hometown really indicated that.�

Stevenson studied art at OU in the 1940s before moving to New York City.

Although he was often identified with pop artists, he was more interested in painting human figures than pop culture or icons, White said.

In 1966, the New York gallery he was working at offered Stevenson the opportunity to create any project he could imagine.

So, he decided to return to Idabel with the goal of painting a portrait a day — 100 in

total — of people from his town. The artist worked toward his goal by corralling friends of the family and their kids to sit for him in his studio, said Kurt Stevenson, Harold’s nephew who works as a firefighter in Idabel. “I wasn’t born when he actually did it,� Kurt said. “But of course I know the story behind it ... He would run into people here in town and at the post office or grocery store, wherever he was, and say, ‘Come to my studio.

I want to do something.’�

Kurt said his uncle could befriend anyone. The artist “never met a stranger,� said Mary Jane Rutherford, a longtime friend of Harold’s.

No one knows if Harold ever got to 100 portraits.

White said there are 98 in existence but the museum only has 97 — wherever the others are is “anybody’s guess.�

Harold chose not to include the names of the people he painted for this exhibit and didn’t let the museum display individual portraits.

He wanted his works to be one big, composite portrait representing any town in America, White said. “He saw ... rural America as being something that was vital and important to the character of the nation,�

White said, “So for him, this was important that it be anonymous, that we focus on the faces, not so much who this person was or was not.�

The exhibit’s name might refer to former President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Great Society� plan to end poverty and racism. The exhibit is relevant today because there is still a lot of talk about who Americans are, along with deep cultural divides between urban and rural,

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Instructions: Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9. That means that no number is repeated in any row, column or box.

By Eugenia Last

Copyright 2015, Newspaper Enterprise Assn.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2019

ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- Gravitate toward activities and projects that you enjoy. Make an effort to improve your fitness and diet regimens. Love and romance will enhance your day and a special relationship.

This is a year of discovery. Be open to suggestions and ready to learn.

With the right information, you can turn over a new leaf. You will receive a wakeup call to improve the way you live and to protect what you have. Acknowledge, learn TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- Take on anyone who stands in your way. and adapt.

Make adjustments to your schedule SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) -- Don’t to avoid missing out on something entertaining. Encourage someone get involved in someone else’s you care about to join your quest. drama. Pursue your dreams. Find the path that encourages you to GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- Be release what no longer works for open and up-front about your feelyou and to embrace what does. ings and plans. Sticking to the truth will encourage others to support SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) you and follow in your footsteps.

-- Personal improvements can be made. Look at the budget you have CANCER (June 21-July 22) -- Don’t to work with and concentrate on being and doing your best. Put your lose sight of your destination. Share energy into things you enjoy doing. your intentions and persuade others to get involved. Be exact and factual, and avoid taking on too CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- Don’t expect everyone to agree much. Offer less but give more. with you. Be prepared to reveal LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- Look for precisely what you are trying to a new adventure. Using your skills achieve to those who may challenge you. Intelligence will win over differently will give you a new outlet to explore. Make physical fitbravado. ness, moderation and good health your goals. Romance will enhance AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) -Don’t stop until you get the results your life. you are searching for. Be open to suggestions and to discussing your VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- Ask feelings and expectations. Romance questions if something isn’t apparent. Keep a close eye on what is on the rise. others are doing. Take charge PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) -- Don’t rather than let someone else make decisions for you. Say no to let confusion set in or interfere temptation. with your ability to do the right thing. Make your position clear and don’t stop until you reach your LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) -- Make personal improvements. Pampering destination. and relaxation will give you a new lease on life. Say no to anyone trying to persuade you to do something that isn’t in your best interest.

classes and races, White said. “By using the term ‘The Great Society,’ Harold was very interested in celebrating what was good about the United States, but also what could be better,� White said.

After Kurt’s parents died when he was 6, his uncle Harold was the major male figure in his life growing up, he said. They were close from the time Kurt was born until Harold’s death in 2018, and Kurt said watching Harold paint was an “everyday deal.â€? “I’ve seen those (‘The Great Society’) paintings my whole life, and you know, I helped Harold move those paintings around practically all over the world ‌ at least all over the United States,â€?

Kurt said, “Even to the (Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art) up there.�

Ku r t s a i d t h e e x h i b i t

represents the people who were influential in his uncle’s life — people of various races, ages and economic backgrounds. “He could fit in just about anywhere he was at,� Kurt said, “And he had friends from all walks of life ... He didn’t have a select group of people that he hung around with or anything like that.�

Harold lived in New York, Paris and Florida, but eventually returned to Idabel in his old age, Kurt said. “Although he lived different places throughout the world, his heart was always in Idabel,� Rutherford said. “The Great Society� exhibit will run through Dec. 29 at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. Molly Kruse

molly.kruse@ou.edu

Universal Crossword Edited by David Steinberg November 18, 2019 ACROSS 1 Ritalin target, for short 5 Mexican money 9 Wanders aimlessly 14 Farewell, in Venice 15 Cuba’s Castro 16 “It’s raining cats and dogs,� for one 17 *Shared on a certain social media site (first 2 letters + last 2) 19 “Napoleon Dynamite� candidate 20 Come out 21 Vegetable tray features 23 Mickey Mouse headband part 24 *He “went to town/A-riding on a pony� (first 2 + last 2) 27 “That’s so cute!�

30 Hubbub 31 Angry Birds, e.g.

32 “Better Call Saul� star Seehorn 34 Close by 37 ___ Allen furniture 41 Get-togethers that each starred answer’s middle letters “interrupt�

44 Beauty business

11/18

45 Low in fat 46 Music staff symbol 47 Winter bug 49 Uncertain factors 51 “That’s so gross!�

52 *Symbol of U.K. rule (first 2 + last 3) 58 Rowboat implement 59 Cook scallops, perhaps 60 Is dishonest with 64 Highly capable 66 *Fellow musicians (first 2 + last 3) 68 Singer’s scope 69 Slurpee competitor 70 Bronzes in the sun 71 Fear greatly 72 Defeated in boxing 73 Burst ___ the scene DOWN 1 About a third of a baseball field 2 Per ___ (daily) 3 Really, really dislike 4 Marriage custom in some cultures 5 Fussing over oneself 6 Dig in 7 Soft shoe material

8 Song such as “Yesterday�

9 Tears the wrapping off 10 Lofty poem 11 Helped 12 “Look before you leap,� for one 13 Camp treat 18 “Great Scott!�

22 Smooch in the street, e.g., briefly 25 Prepare to be knighted 26 Sight-related 27 Parentheses’ shapes 28 Exclamation of awe 29 Healthy 33 In the sky 35 Roses-red link 36 Show again 38 One of three in many bowling balls 39 Once more

40 “Too racy for the office� initials 42 Joined the military 43 Spread out, as a map 48 Operate 50 Dog-paddle or crawl 52 Pinterest collection 53 Stormtracking device 54 Singer Cara 55 Nun’s garment 56 Give in to pressure 57 “Nifty!�

61 Overzealous fan, slangily 62 Fair shelter 63 ___ buco 65 Org. for Mickelson and McIlroy 67 New: Prefix

PREVIOUS PREVIOUSPUZZLE PUZZLEANSWER ANSWER

11/17 Š 2019 Andrews McMeel Universal 11/11 Š 2019 Andrews McMeel Universal www.upuzzles.com www.upuzzles.com

Party Crashers by Adam Vincent

SPORTS

Nov. 18-24, 2019 •

5

Quarterback finds redemption Hurts struggles early, comes back big against Bears GEORGE STOIA @GeorgeStoia

WACO, Texas — Jalen Hurts found himself surrounded by a sea of crimson and cream, fans grabbing his jersey as a rare earto-ear smile appeared on his face.

Kenneth Murray danced to his left, Parnell Motley yelled on his right, and Sooner Nation — those in attendance and those not — celebrated all around.

Hurts and No. 10 Oklahoma had just pulled off the biggest comeback in school history, after being down 28-3, to beat No. 13 Baylor 34-31.

“I put us in a horrible situation, and we found a way to come back. I love it,” Hurts said in his onfield postgame interview.

“You’re remembered for what you do in November.”

Welcome to Sooner lore, Jalen Hurts.

“Every time we’ve got an opportunity to touch the field, we’ve got an opportunity do something special,” Hurts said. “Talk about the perseverance of this team — I can’t say it enough, about how we responded to adversity.”

It was only two quarters earlier that fans and media questioned if Hurts should start the second half for Oklahoma.

With the Sooners trailing 31-10 at halftime, Hurts having two costly turnovers and OU ’s offense struggling to find its groove with 157 total yards, many wondered if it was time for Tanner Mordecai and Spencer Rattler to have a chance. Not Lincoln Riley.

“He hung in there. He made one bad decision in the throw game, and then obviously the two fumbles,” Riley said. “Other than that, the guy played pretty clean ball. He settled in. I thought he handled a lot of our adjustments well — we made a lot of adjustments in this game. I thought he handled those adjustments as good as he has all year.”

And when Hurts fumbled

in the end zone in the third quarter to cut the game to one score? Riley’s confidence in his quarterback never wavered. “ H e w a s d i s a p p o i n ted, but then he was over it quickly,” Riley said. “That’s one thing I know about him. I don’t have to go do a Dr. Phil session with him.

I told him I think we are moving it well to this point and to hold on to the damn ball, and we’ll score every drive.”

It was a tale of two halves for Hurts.

In the first, he was 8-of14 with 80 yards, a touchdown and an interception, while rushing 12 times for 26 yards and a fumble. In the second half, he was 22of-28 with 217 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing 15 times for 88 yards, a touchdown and a fumble.

Hurts, though he played maybe the worst half of his life to start the game, found redemption when he and his team needed it most.

He trusted in his young receivers, throwing to freshmen Jadon Haselwood, Theo Wease Jr. and Austin Stogner when it mattered most.

He believed in himself, and, more importantly, his teammates believed in him when it counted most.

“I’m virtually the new guy around here, one of the newest members to the OU family, Boomer Sooner, all that,” Hurts said. “These are the same guys that trusted me, voted me as captain, basically said, ‘We’re going to follow Jalen.’ That means more than you know ...

Tonight, they’re out there battling and their leader made some mistakes, and we all found ways to overcome it.”

Hur ts couldn’t watch as his season hung in the balance.

Gabe Brkic lined up to make the eventual game-winning field goal, and Hurts stood with his back turned from the field.

He gazed into the crowd, knowing he’d done all he could.

And it was enough.

It was enough to not only salvage Oklahoma’s season, which still has TCU and Oklahoma State remaining

Senior quarterback Jalen Hurts during the game against Baylor on Nov. 16 in Waco, Texas.

Senior quarterback Jalen Hurts during the game against Baylor on Nov. 16 in Waco, Texas.

in the regular season, but also buoy his own career.

It was the exact reason he came to OU and the same reason OU welcomed him with open arms.

After the game, as Hurts ran to the end zone, Riley stopped him and wrapped

his arms around the quarterback for a bear hug. It was a hug of jubilation and redemption.

“You talk about me being t h e n e w g u y , m e b e i ng placed on a whole different team — a team that I prepared for last year in

a bowl game,” Hurts said.

“Talk about not knowing the identity of what we are, and I think we are a football team that, when we have the right focus, the right energy and enthusiasm all throughout the organization, I think (we’re) pretty

CAITLYN EPES/THE DAILY

CAITLYN EPES/THE DAILY

good, pretty good.

“That’s a testament to the hard work, the belief we had in each other, and the will of not being denied.”

George Stoia

georgestoia@ou.edu

Interception seals Sooners’ win over Baylor Bonitto’s takeaway shows promise for future of defense VIC REYNOLDS @vicareynolds

WACO, Texas — After Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer threw an interception with 29 seconds remaining to seal a 34-31 Oklahoma victory, the Sooner defense sprinted to the southeast corner of McLane Stadium and piled on top of one player.

Under the pile of Sooners wasn’t Butkus semifinalist Kenneth Murray, Bednarik watch list member Neville Gallimore or one of the seniors who have played in multiple College Football Playoff games.

Instead it was Nik Bonitto, the redshirt freshman linebacker who didn’t get his first start until the middle of the season.

“It was unreal, and it honestly felt like a movie,” Bonitto said of the moment.

“I’ve never experienced anything like that, and just to see that team come together with the way it ended — it was a storybook.

I loved it.”

Bonitto’s interception was the culmination of an improbable comeback that started with the Sooners

CAITLYN EPES/THE DAILY

Senior quarterback Jalen Hurts and senior cornerback Parnell Motley celebrate with fans after the game against Baylor on Nov. 16 in Waco, Texas.

(9-1, 6-1 Big 12) heading to the halftime locker room down 31-10 and finished with the defense shutting out the prolific Baylor offense in the second half.

The play was a perfect microcosm of the Sooners’ “next man up, next play up” mentality they have fostered under first-year defensive coordinator Alex Grinch.

Bonitto wasn’t the starter

until he was thrust into the job when redshirt junior Jon-Michael Terr y went down with a season-ending injury in late October.

One play prior to intercepting Brewer’s pass, Bonitto dropped an interception that also would’ve sealed the game.

“Nik’s been a guy that’s stepped up for us, and he really stepped up big for us tonight,” Murray said. “I’m

extremely proud of him. He never lets anything get to his head, and he just continues to go out there to work and improve.”

Brewer and the Bears came out and surgically engineered drive after drive to score on the Sooner defense, which has been reeling after giving up 48 and 41 points to Kansas State and Iowa State, respectively, in its last two games.

In the first half, the Sooners looked like the same team they were in the second halves against the Cyclones and the Wildcats.

Brewer accounted for four total touchdowns, and the 31 points were the most the Sooners had given up in a half this year.

“We just had to understand that if we execute our jobs, then things take care of themselves,” Murray said.

“In the first half, we were kind of shooting ourselves in the foot a little bit. We were getting down in situations we don’t want to be put in, so we really just had to settle in and do our job.”

On the first Baylor offensive play in the second half, running back JaMycal Hasty scampered 32 yards before senior cornerback Parnell Motley punched it out of his hands and sophomore safety Patrick Fields recovered it to secure the first Sooner takeaway since the 55-16 win against Texas Tech on Sept. 28.

But perhaps more importantly than being the f i r s t t a k e aw ay i n e i g h t weeks, the fumble gave the Sooners momentum and confidence heading into the rest of the second half.

“It was a big relief for me,” Grinch said. “If you want to curb the momentum of an opponent, there’s only certain ways you can get

that done ... If you’re not creating takeaways — and I believe it was four or five straight weeks for us, and I tried to stop counting — then you have no momentum plays.”

The second half has monumental implications for the Sooners’ College Football Playoff hopes, but more immediately it serves as a reminder of what this defense showed in the early parts of the season.

They resembled the same group that sacked Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger nine times at the Cotton Bowl, the same group that had four takeaways through three games and the same group that was ranked in the top 40 nationally in seven statistical categories through seven games.

“It’s proven on tape that when we do what we’re supposed to do, it works,” Murray said. “We have a bunch of tape that shows that, and so at the end of the day it comes down to us just focusing and us just understanding that everything’s not going to be perfect and everything’s not going to go our way.

“We just have to continue to fight and continue to believe.”

Vic Reynolds

victor.reynolds@ou.edu

6

SPORTS

• Nov. 18-24, 2019

CAITLYN EPES/THE DAILY

Freshman tight end Austin Stogner scores a touchdown during the game against Baylor on Nov. 16 in Waco, Texas.

Freshmen promise strong future Three newcomers keep cool in highstakes Baylor game

CALEB MCCOURRY @CalebMac21

WACO, Texas — No. 10 Oklahoma’s most significant offensive weapon sat on the bench wearing a beanie the entire game.

CeeDee Lamb, who has 983 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns on the season, watched as the Sooners tallied a 21-point deficit going into halftime against No. 13 Baylor.

The junior wide receiver sat out Saturday night on what head coach Lincoln Riley described as a “medical decision,” and the result was senior quarterback Jalen Hurts failing to utilize the offense around him in a

disastrous first half. Hurts threw for 80 yards with a touchdown and an interception before halftime, and the S o oners found themselves down 28-3 early in the second quarter.

Lamb’s absence was felt.

Enter Austin Stogner, Theo Wease Jr. and Jadon Haselwood — three freshmen.

Stogner caught the first touchdown of the game in the second quarter and another in the third, Wease Jr. showed flashes of brilliance with crafty runs after the catch and a 19-yard touchd o w n , a n d Ha s e l w o o d caught a 16-yard pass to set up sophomore fullback B ray d e n Wi l l i s’ t o u c h down in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 31-31.

These three newcomers were thrown into the fire Saturday night, and their contributions were critical

in OU’s comeback 34-31 win over the Bears.

“We expect anybody on the trip or on the field for us to make plays,” redshirt senior wide receiver Nick Basquine said. “Obviously they’re young guys — freshmen. But they have bright futures, and they came up big in the game.

“A lot of confidence. Once you get to this level, everybody’s good. Everybody can make plays. It’s about h av i n g t h e c o n f i d e n c e and that belief in yourself.

Them stepping up on this type of stage is going to give them that confidence, and they’re just going to grow from that.”

Stogner was thrown to twice. Both passes resulted in touchdown catches, and although the fours t a r re c r u i t ha d o n l y 8 yards, each of his scores set the tone of the half :

His first touchdown was the only Oklahoma touchdown of the first half, and his second score was the first of three unanswered Oklahoma touchdowns in the second.

W e a s e J r. — o n e o f OU’s three five-star wide receivers along with Trejan Bridges and Jadon Haselwood — made his touchdown after the turning point of the game when senior cornerback Parnell Motley forced a fumble on Baylor’s first drive of the second half. Wease Jr. ran around a defender and outran four more to run 19 yards for the touchdown.

He finished with 31 yards on the night on two targets.

Haselwood was thrown to just once, but his 16yard catch put the Sooners on Baylor’s 19-yard line as time was winding down in the fourth quarter.

“ You w ork s o hard to bring in the right guys, and in recruiting you talk to them about the chance to play in big games like this,” Riley said. “And a chance to make those big winning plays. Tonight was exciting for the team first and foremost, but certainly exciting for the future with a lot of young guys making big plays.”

T h e b r e a k- o u t g a m e for Wease Jr., Stogner and Haselwood was more than just a momentum-builder for the team’s Big 12 Championship and College Football Playoff hopes — it was a glimpse of what’s to come in the next few years from the young talent Riley hasn’t fully set loose yet.

Saturday night, the three were exposed to a hostile environment, and the y w ere put up against an undefeated team. In that

game, with Lamb as a spectator, the three freshmen made big plays for a team with its back against the wall.

Hurts used them to lead the Sooners to their most critical performance of the year. The trio helped save Oklahoma’s season, and it likely won’t be the last time they do so. “ Ju s t h av i n g C e e D e e out, you just see we got weapons,” said redshirt sophomore wide receiver Charleston Rambo, who finished the game w ith 50 receiving yards. “Their years here are going to be great. They got a bright future. “ Ju s t s e e i ng t h e m d o that, it just lets us know we can do a lot more.”

Caleb McCourry

caleb.a.mccourry-1@ou.edu

Halftime adjustments prove vital in victory Kicker Gabe Brkic helps OU clinch historic comeback TARIK MASRI

@TarikM_Official

In a wild comeback Saturday night, the No. 10 Sooners defeated No. 13 Baylor in Waco, 34-31.

Oklahoma (9-1, 6-1 Big 12) found itself down as many as 25 points, but a second-half surge helped lift the Sooners to their biggest win of the season so far. The comeback was the largest in school history and marked the 19th straight win for the Sooners in November, dating back to a 2014 loss to Baylor.

Th e n e w s t hat ju n i o r wide receiver CeeDee Lamb would miss the game due to an undisclosed injury was a huge blow to a Sooner offense that seemed to regress after a strong start to the season.

The game was important in deciding the Big 12 Championship and, with the Sooner win, it’s likely there will be a rematch of Saturday’s contest in December.

Here’s how we graded the Sooners in Week 11: OFFENSE: C+ O k l a h o m a’s o f f e n s e had one of the slower first halves they’ve played in several years. The Sooners headed to the locker room having put up just 10 points and 156 total yards, as well

as three costly turnovers.

Senior quarterback Jalen Hurts struggled early with three turnovers, including two fumbles, an interception and another fumble that the Sooners recovered.

The Sooners finished with two lost fumbles and one interception. The second half was a different story for the Sooners, and Oklahoma dominated the time of possession battle, 41:11 to 18:49.

Hurts finished with 297 yards while completing 30 of 42 passes and four touchdowns. The Alabama transfer threw 217 of those yards in the second half and added 114 yards rushing on 27 carries. The running game was a huge part of why the Sooners were so dominant in the second half.

Redshirt sophomore Kennedy Brooks carried the ball 18 times for 93 yards, a n d ju n i o r R ha m o n d re Stevenson had six carries for 23 yards.

In Lamb’s absence, redshirt senior Lee Morris had a big game and led Oklahoma with seven catches for 86 yards. Freshman tight end Austin Stogner’s only two catches on the night were for touchdowns of 5 and 3 yards, respectively.

The Sooners ran 95 plays in McLane Stadium, the most they’ve run in any game this season.

Oklahoma took long drives in the second half that wore out Baylor’s defense and eventually gave them a chance to come back.

Freshman wide receiver Theo Wease during the game against Baylor on Nov. 16 in Waco, Texas.

DEFENSE: B Going into the break, the Sooners had allowed 238 yards of offense and 31 points while forcing no turnovers. The Bears were earning 6.6 yards per carry and were able to give junior quarterback Charlie Brewer as much time as he needed aside from one sack.

The adjustments made at halftime proved to be the difference-maker for Oklahoma’s defense.

Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch’s squad began to show flashes of the team they were at the beginning

of the season.

Baylor had just four plays o n o f f e n s e i n t h e t h i rd quarter and 12 in the fourth quarter, compared to the Sooners’ 31 and 27, respectively. The Bears were successful on just one third down in the second half after converting on three of five attempts in the first half.

Senior defensive back Parnell Motley helped move Oklahoma out of its turnover drought with a strip that was recovered by the Sooners in the third quarter.

Junior linebacker Kenneth Murray led the

team with eight tackles and two tackles for loss. The game was sealed with an interception by redshirt freshman Nik Bonitto.

The Sooners held Baylor to 69 total yards of offense in the second half and five minutes of possession.

CAITLYN EPES/THE DAILY

of 39 yards and 31 yards, respectively.

Junior defensive back Tre Brown had a solid game returning kicks. One kickoff return almost went the distance, but it was called back due to a holding. He finished with four returns for 77 yards.

Redshirt sophomore SPECIAL TEAMS: A+ Reeves Mundschau had one Redshirt freshman Gabe punt for 46 yards.

Brkic was called on twice to kick important field goals, one on the Sooners’ first Tarik Masri possession of the game and tarikmasri@gmail.com one on nearly their last. The Ohio native knocked them both down from a distance